- "So 007, lots to be done... Are you ready to get back to work?"
- ― M to James Bond
Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Mallory (also known by the initial "M") is the current Head of Secret Intelligence Service — also known as MI6 — and is portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes.
Introduced in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall as the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Mallory assumes the role of M following the untimely death of the outgoing Head of MI6.
Biography
Background
Mallory is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the SAS, who served in Northern Ireland and spent three months as a hostage in the hands of the IRA. His distinguishing trait is that during his wrongful incarceration he steadfastly refused to divulge confidential information; a fact that seems to have impressed the originally cynical James Bond.
Skyfall
During the events of Skyfall, he is the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee.[1] Acting as an intermediary between MI6 and the British government, his position gives him the authority to regulate MI6.[2] During his meeting with M, she at first thinks he is firing her but Mallory just wants her to retire. But she refuses and left early. He observed 007's evaluation and after the psychiatrist said "Skyfall", Bond just left. They first meet as M lies about 007's tests and before James left the room, Mallory asks Bond a question, 'Why not stay dead?" Bond who had been presumed dead, wished to take advantage of his perceived death to retire and enjoy a quiet life of leisure as a civilian. However, when Bond sees M and the rest of MI6 are under attack, he elects to drop the charade.
Later on, during the inquiry, Raoul Silva, who recently escaped after disabling MI6's defense system, breaks in with two other henchmen of his and plans on shooting M but Mallory manages to jump in the way and took the bullet to his left shoulder. Despite the injury, Mallory helped Eve and 007 by picking up a dead police officer's Glock 17 and shoots one of Silva's henchmen and after James shoots the fire extinguishers which created a smokescreen, Mallory helped Miss Moneypenny in evacuating the parliamentary ministers and inquiry members out of the courthouse building. He was treated by medics and was given an arm sling. Returning to MI6 after the firefight, Mallory discovered Q and Bill Tanner making a complex electronic trail for Silva to single-handedly to follow, hoping to help Bond and M lure Silva and his henchmen into a trap. To their surprise, he allows them to continue, warning them to not get caught by the Prime Minister. At the end of the film, due to her death, Mallory is given M's alias and position as head of MI6, with the former giving the top secret document to Bond in his next assignment, of which Bond accepts.
Spectre
When M reads on the headlines about a collapsed building in Mexico, he shows 007 the Guardian newspaper in his office and asked him the purpose of his trip, replying that he was on a holiday. M grounds him temporarily from the field for taking the trip without an official authorization and that it could stir up an international incident. Soon after, a man from the Joint Security Service named Max Denbigh (who is named by the alias of 'C' by Bond), enters the office whom M introduces to 007. M is in the middle of a power struggle between Denbigh's Nine Eyes Committee which would eliminate the need for the "00" section.
When it emerges that C is an agent of villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, M, Q, Moneypenny, Bond, and Tanner travel to arrest C and stop the launch of the Nine Eyes programme. En route they are ambushed and Bond is kidnapped. M and the others escape and proceed to wait for C in his office, arrest him and shut down Nine Eyes before it launches; in an ensuing struggle, C is killed. Bond comes close to executing Blofeld but then lets him be arrested by M.
No Time to Die
M discussing Project Heracles with James Bond
- "We used to be able to get into a room with the enemy. And now they're just floating in the ether."
- ― M to James Bond
Five years after James Bonds's retirement, M continues as the head of MI6. He has commissioned new agents, including a new 007, Nomi.
James Bond confronts M following the death of Felix Leiter, who had commissioned him to rescue Valdo Obruchev, a scientist who commissioned a weapon known as Project Heracles. He learns from M that Project Heracles was originally commissioned by MI6 and M, a means of targeting Britain's enemies in a new world in which they can launch attacks from the dark, never even showing their faces. Heracles was intended to target individuals, but Obruchev, along with Lyutsifer Safin, have twisted it into a weapon capable of targeting even entire races. Bond demands that M get him a meeting with Ernest Blofeld in order to learn more about the attack in which SPECTRE attempted to use Heracles to kill him, but M refuses. Angered, Bond goes behind his back, enlisting the help of both Moneypenny and Q both to get his meeting and to learn more about Heracles.
Ultimately, M reneges, re-enlisting Bond as an active agent and re-instating his title of 007. He then puts Bond on the mission to take down Safin, with Q and the new agent Nomi (who had been given the 007 title) as support. Bond succeeds in his mission, but is killed in the process, forced to remain behind to ensure the success of the missiles that take out the factory which creates the Project Heracles nanobots. Afterwards, M shares a drink in Bond's honor at MI6 along with Miss Moneypenny, Q, Nomi and Bill Tanner.
Personality
Mallory has a very aloof, cynical and sarcastic personality. However, he respected M for her years of service to her country, and was not cruel to her for her retirement. He is, however, skeptical to the fact that Bond came back after he had the perfect chance of retirement. He remains skeptical and doubtful towards James Bond. He also sends Miss Moneypenny to spy on him. It was revealed that Mallory fought against the IRA, and was a prisoner of war at the time. He was possibly embittered by this experience to the point of borderline social detachment to everybody else. This showed both loyalty and bravery hidden beneath Mallory's shell. He eventually came to respect Bond and fought alongside him during the battle against Raoul Silva. He is highly intelligent, as he was the first appointed as the next head of MI6 after his predecessor died.
Behind the scenes
When first cast in Skyfall, many people speculated that Fiennes would play Bond's arch-nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, as Fiennes is often cast as a villain in many films.
During the filming of Skyfall, the fact that Fiennes was to become the new M was a closely guarded secret.
Ralph Fiennes is the youngest actor in the role of M, being 49 when he first appeared in the role.
Gallery
See also
- M (Literary)
- M (Bernard Lee)
- M (Robert Brown)
- M (Judi Dench) (classic film continuity)
- M (Judi Dench)
References
- ↑ "Film Synopsis", Empire, 15 September 2012. Retrieved on 16 September 2012.
- ↑ "IGN Has Seen the Skyfall", IGN Movies, IGN, 16 April 2012. Retrieved on 17 April 2012.
